- The New York Times quotes Biden administration officials as saying classified war document detailing secret U.S. and NATO plans for building up Ukraine’s military ahead of a planned Spring offensive against Russia were posted this week on the social media platforms Twitter and Telegram.
- French President Emmanuel Macron tells Chinese President Xi Jinping to use China’s relationship with Russia to help end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
- Russian investigators have charged Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich with espionage, the Interfax news agency reported.
- A Swedish prosecutor investigating the Nord Stream pipeline attacks told Reuters the “clear main scenario” is that a state-sponsored group was responsible.
Russia warned Friday that it would not renew the Black Sea Grain Initiative signed by the Kremlin, Ukraine, Turkey and the U.N. last July unless Moscow’s terms are fulfilled.
The deal allows Ukraine — one of the world’s top grain producers — to export grain through a safe corridor in the Black Sea. According to official data, more than 27 million tons of grain and other foodstuffs have been exported from Ukraine aboard 881 outbound vessels since the initiative began last August. According to the U.N., continuing the deal is vital to averting a world food crisis. The deal has been extended twice, the last time for 60 days instead of the 120 days that had been agreed initially.
Moscow is complaining that its side of the agreement, promising the right to export fertilizer and other agricultural products, is not being honored.
At a news conference in Ankara, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov threatened to abandon the agreement. Moscow is calling on the West to remove obstacles to Russian agricultural exports, allow a resumption in supplies of agricultural machinery and parts, lift restrictions on insurance, and reinsurance and unblock assets and accounts of Russian companies involved in food and fertilizer exports. Lavrov said that Russian grain and fertilizer exports were affected by a lack of access to insurance and to the SWIFT financial messaging system.
Lavrov said, if those terms are not honored, Russia will bypass the U.N. brokered initiative exporting products and Ukraine would have to use land and river routes for its exports.
Meanwhile, anger is rising among farmers in central and eastern Europe over a high influx of cheap Ukrainian grain imports, exempt from customs fees until June 2024, which have hurt prices and sales of local producers.
In Romania thousands of farmers held protests Friday, blocking traffic and border checkpoints with tractors and trucks and urging the European Commission to intervene.
Polish and Bulgarian farmers have also held protests and Polish Agriculture Minister Henryk Kowalczyk resigned from his post this week. His replacement, Agriculture Minister Robert Telus said Friday that Poland will temporarily halt imports of Ukrainian grain to mitigate the impact on prices, but he added, transit will still be allowed.
Leaks of plans
Ukraine’s leaders held a meeting Friday at the Ukrainian headquarters of the armed forces supreme command to discuss leaks of secret documents detailing U.S. and NATO plans to help the country’s counteroffensive against Russia. The military information was reportedly posted on social media, The New York Times reported.
A Ukrainian official told Reuters the documents contained a “very large amount of fictitious information” and the posts looked like a Russian disinformation operation to create doubts about the offensive, which requires advanced Western weapons.
“These are just standard elements of operational games by Russian intelligence. And nothing more,” presidential official Mykhailo Podolyak said in a written statement. The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended the meeting but made no mention of a leak.
The Times said the documents did not reveal when or where the offensive would take place but that the leak could affect trust between the allies as it gave timetables for the delivery of weaponry and the training of Ukrainian troops by the West.
They appeared to be modified in places, overstating American estimates of Ukrainian war dead and underestimating Russian military casualties, the newspaper said, adding that U.S. officials were working to get the posts taken down.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Asked to comment, a Pentagon spokesperson said by email, “We are aware of the reports of social media posts and the department is reviewing the matter.”
Bakhmut at risk
Russia has recently regained some “momentum” in the battle for Bakhmut, the British Defense Ministry said Friday in its daily intelligence update on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The report said Russian forces have “highly likely advanced” into the town center of Bakhmut and have seized the west bank of the Bakhmutka River. The update also reported that Wagner forces and Russian Defense Ministry commanders “have paused their ongoing feud and improved cooperation.”
Ending Russia’s war
French President Emmanuel Macron has encouraged Chinese President Xi Jinping to use Beijing’s relationship with Moscow to help bring an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Macron told Xi as they met Thursday in Beijing that Russia’s aggression in Ukraine has harmed international stability.
“I know I can count on you to bring back Russia to reason and everyone back to the negotiating table,” Macron said.
Macron Urges Xi to Push Russia to Start New Ukraine Peace Talks
Xi told journalists that “together with France, we appeal for restraint and reason” in the 14-month conflict, adding that China was seeking “a quick return to peace negotiations in the quest for a political settlement and the building of a European architecture that is balanced and lasting.”
The Chinese leader said his government “appeals for the protection of civilians. Nuclear weapons must not be used and nuclear war must be avoided.”
It’s unclear whether Xi might pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate, as Macron requested or whether the Chinese leader would speak with Zelenskyy, who said last month that China could be a “partner” in the quest for peace.
China has proposed a multipart peace plan for Ukraine that includes a call for upholding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, but it does not call on Russia to withdraw its forces from Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials have said they will only engage in peace talks if Russia withdraws all its military, while Russia has insisted that Ukraine recognize areas that Russia has claimed to annex. There have been no known peace talks since last April.
Some material in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.